Daily Clips for December 9, 2010

PROGRESS FLORIDA IN THE NEWS Leader of fetal ‘personhood’ group outlines amendment strategy By Virginia Chamlee Florida Independent Excerpt: In October, Progress Florida sent out an email to supporters questioning the merits of Personhood Florida’s proposed “Personhood Amendment,” which seeks to extend constitutional rights to fetuses. In its email, Progress Florida called it a “radical amendment” that would “unleash a Pandora’s box of cruel and unnecessary consequences for all of Florida’s families.” FEATURED STORIES Haridopolos ready to fight health care By Jim Ash Florida Capital News At the urging of President Mike Haridopolos, a Senate panel voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to revive a constitutional amendment that attempts to block federal health-care mandates. Florida House Wants to Restrict Court's Role News Service of Florida Lakeland Ledger The Florida House has begun exploring steps giving the Legislature more authority to get proposed state constitutional amendments before voters without risking having measures struck down by a court. Florida's workforce least expensive in nation, report says By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News Gov.-elect Rick Scott, who has promised to shrink the size of state government, will inherit a workforce that is, per capita, the nation's smallest and least expensive. Crist and Clemency Board hear appeal to clear civil rights arrest records By Waveney Ann Moore and Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times For years, Maude Burroughs Jackson rarely spoke of the fear of cattle prods and police dogs, the humiliation of being sprayed by hoses or arrests for taking part in St. Augustine's civil rights struggle of the 1960s. Playing politics with Florida's dirty water Editorial St. Petersburg Times Florida's leaders continue to moonlight on behalf of the worst polluters fouling the water. FLORIDA POLITICS Rod Smith a step closer to being state party chairman By Chad Smith Gainesville Sun Rod Smith was elected state committeeman of the Alachua County Democratic Party on Wednesday night, making him eligible to become the state party’s next chairman, as is expected to happen in January. Juvenile Justice Secretary Frank Peterman accused of misuse of state funds By Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau The state Commission on Ethics has found that Juvenile Justice Secretary Frank Peterman Jr. may have "corruptly" misused his position or state resources to pay for frequent taxpayer-funded trips between the state capital and his home in St. Petersburg. Is Rick Scott inaugural in for Bieber-mania? By Paul Flemming and Jeff Burlew Florida Capital News Gov.-elect Rick Scott's Jan. 4 swearing in as Florida's 45th chief executive may be upstaged, at least among the state's 'tweens, the night before with a performance by 15-year-old pop sensation Justin Bieber. Ros-Lehtinen, now in key foreign policy post, signals she'll challenge Obama policy By Lesley Clark Miami Herald Promising to play “hardball” with “rogue regimes” and press for cuts in foreign aid, Miami Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen moved rapidly Wednesday to put her mark on U.S. foreign policy as the incoming chair of the influential House Foreign Affairs Committee. Mica confirmed as new transportation committee chair By Ted Jackovics Tampa Tribune U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, was confirmed as expected today by vote of the House Republican Conference to serve as Chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in the 112th Congress. ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Report: Florida will reap economic benefits by not drilling listen listen By Kate Bradshaw WMNF Community Radio Tampa Last week the Obama Administration announced it will not lift its ban in offshore oil drilling in the Eastern Gulf. What's Going On At The Bottom Of The Gulf Talk of the Nation NPR It's been several months since the BP capped its blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico. Stats on eastern gulf oil deposits bely rhetoric against Obama drilling ban By Travis Pillow Florida Independent When the U.S Interior Department announced last week that it would walk back a decision to allow oil drilling in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic Coast, it drew the predictable praise from environmentalists and scorn from drilling advocates and business groups. Florida Sen. Bennet to refile split-up growth bill By Michael Peltier News Service of Florida A massive 2009 legislative overhaul of the growth management laws that has been tied up in court may be re-written in the coming year as separate pieces of legislation, a leading Senate critic of the state's growth laws said Wednesday. Crist Not Sure If He Will Sign Septic Tank Inspection Delay Staff Report Lakeland Ledger Gov. Charlie Crist said Wednesday he has not decided whether he will sign the lone piece of new legislation to emerge from last month's special session that saw lawmakers override several of his vetoes. Water wars won't be focus of new House panel By Bruce Ritchie Florida Tribune The chairman of a new select House committee addressing water issues said Wednesday she expects it to deal more with water quality issues and less with water quantity except for "big picture" issues. Make BP pay fully for oil spilled Editorial St. Petersburg Times There is now one more reason why the flow rate matters after an offshore oil spill: Botched estimates in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill may help BP avoid financial penalties. Coastal-Oil-Drilling Ban: Protect Florida Waters Editorial Lakeland Ledger The Obama administration corrected a policy mistake and recognized a political miscalculation last week by rescinding its decision to expand offshore oil drilling Florida's coasts. LGBT Senate delays vote on ban on gays in military By Anne Flaherty The Associated Press A proposal by Senate Democrats to repeal the military's 17-year-old ban on openly gay troops stalled Wednesday after a key Republican refused to sign on and Democrats feared a critical test vote would fail. EDUCATION Superman screening for lawmakers offers glimpse of school-reform debate By Travis Pillow Florida Independent In a preview of the education agenda for the upcoming session, members of the Florida legislature gathered at Tallahassee’s Miracle 5 movie theater on Tuesday for a screening of Waiting for Superman, a documentary that explores the shortcomings of America’s education system. 'Improved' high school grades based on apples-to-oranges comparison By Howard Troxler St. Petersburg Times Good morning, class! Today we're going to talk about comparison. Can you say that with me? Com-PARE-ih-son. Good! Teacher pay/performance (think SB 6): Lawmakers will hear ideas tomorrow By Leslie Postal Orlando Sentinel The Senate education pre-k-12 committee tomorrow is slated to hear presentations on “instructional quality” that will focus on the hot-button issues of how best to evaluate and pay teachers. Hard vs. soft: Which sort of ed reformer do you prefer? By Tom Marshall St. Petersburg Times It has become quite the education reform parlor game lately in Florida. Teachers' union, district at impasse in salary talks By Kathleen McGrory Miami Herald The Miami-Dade teachers' union has declared an impasse with the school district in its latest round of salary negotiations. UF getting $3 million to study citrus disease By Nathan Crabbe Gainesville Sun The University of Florida is getting $3 million to battle a disease that affects citrus crops. JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY Rick Scott coy about Miami bid to deepen port to boost shipping By Patricia Mazzei Miami Herald As part of his "Let's Get to Work'' jobs tour, Gov.-elect Rick Scott visited the Port of Miami on Wednesday — but did not take a position on a major project proponents say could bring 33,000 jobs to South Florida. Cannon: Tax cuts are 'top priority' By Michael C. Bender St. Petersburg Times We caught up today with Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon, who said he's trying to decide which lawmakers to put in what committees. Prison spending plays major role in debate over projected state budget deficit By Travis Pillow Florida Independent When it comes to describing his plans for dealing with the state’s $2.5 billion projected budget deficit, Gov.-elect Rick Scott has been short on specifics. Want to save billions? Lower drug penalties and slash pensions says group By Brent Henzi Florida Tribune Florida TaxWatch released a report on Wednesday that provides the Legislature with more than 125 recommendations that could save the state as much as $4.3 billion during the upcoming year. Pinellas officials to Scott: Take federal high-speed rail funds By Ted Jackovics Tampa Tribune Arguing that high-speed rail is essential to their $3.2 billion tourist industry, influential Pinellas County business and elected officials said Wednesday they will ask Gov.-elect Rick Scott to accept federal funds for the Tampa-Orlando route. SunRail back on track after Amtrak backs down By Dan Tracy Orlando Sentinel Amtrak backed off its demands Wednesday for an ironclad insurance deal with SunRail, clearing the tracks for the Central Florida commuter train to roll again toward a startup in 2013. HEALTH AND SENIORS State Senate revives proposed amendment to stop health care plan By Marc Caputo St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau If the Republican-led state Legislature has its way, Florida voters will have two chances in 2012 to weigh in on President Barack Obama and his agenda. DOH critic wins powerful post By Jim Saunders Health News Florida State Rep. Matt Hudson has led a controversial effort to overhaul the Florida Department of Health. Now, he will help control the agency's purse strings --- and a whole lot more. MDs fee cut could have been bigger By Carol Gentry Health News Florida About 58,000 medical doctors who hold Florida licenses will get a 5 percent price cut when they renew their licenses, following a vote by the Florida Board of Medicine last weekend. CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES The Dream Act clears the House, just 8 GOP'ers vote in favor -- including 3 from Florida By Lesley Clark Miami Herald The House voted 216 to 198 to pass the Dream Act -- with just 8 Republicans voting in favor: including Miami's three Cuban-American lawmakers, Reps. Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Crist re-enacts signing of bill for civil-rights hall of fame By Bill Cotterell Florida Capital News Backed by black legislators and civil-rights activists, Gov. Charlie Crist paid tribute to Florida's role in the movement for equality Wednesday with the ceremonial signing of legislation creating a state civil-rights hall of fame. JUSTICE AND THE COURTS Jim Morrison's case comes before clemency board today By Robert Farley St. Petersburg Times Florida's Board of Clemency will consider a posthumous pardon today of rock icon Jim Morrison of the Doors, who was convicted of exposing himself during a Miami concert in 1969.